Pregnant women face return of the weigh-in

Routine checks were phased out in the early 1990s because they were thought to increase stress and have no proven benefitTERESA CRAWFORD/AP:ASSOCIATED PRESS

Midwives have called for women to be given official targets for how much weight they can gain during pregnancy amid concern about the risk posed to children by Britain’s obesity problem.

In a clear shift in approach, the Royal College of Midwives wants limits to be dictated after research showed that too much weight gain by mothers could lead to babies growing into unhealthy schoolchildren. Guidance under consideration by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) could set a target at 2st 7lb (16kg) for women of normal weight and 1st 6lb (9kg) for those who are obese.

Routine weighing of pregnant women was phased out in Britain in the early 1990s on the grounds that it increased maternal stress and had no…

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